Material handling apparatus



July 2, 1935. J. J. NEUMAN MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Original FiledFeb. 23, 1935 Q m iiiiliinii Q m a r Patented July 2 1935 UNITED STATESPATENT "OFFICE M TERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS JacobIJ. Neuman, South Salem,N. Y. 7 Original application February 23, 1933, Serial No. 658,069.Divided and'thi's application February f" 26,1934, Serial sm-712,992 I 7Claims. (01. 212-47) My present invention relates to material handlingapparatus, the invention being more'par ticularly related to a trolleycrane or the like, having a pivoted load hoist, and this application 5for patent is a division ofmy copending application for patent filed'February 23, 1933, Serial No. 653,069, which has matured into Patent No.1,988,855, granted January 22, 1935.

In general, the object of my invention istopro- 10 videa relativelysimple apparatus whereby commodities, such as raw sugar, may beexpeditiously handled at the dock or pier for the purpose of firstweighing the same, and then transporting the weighed bags or packages toa conveyer, stor- 15* age elevator or other relatively remote point sothat the manual labor heretofore incident to the handling of suchmaterials may be reduced to a minimum. f

To the above end, it is one of the important 20-objects of the inventionto provide one or more traveling trolleys or cranes suitably mounted ona pier or dock, each trolley or crane being provided with a pivoted loadhoist for raising and lowering a plurality of bags of sugarfor othermaterial. Electrically operated means are provided for controlling thetravel of the trolleys and the operation of the pivoted hoists wherebythe load of each hoist is first positioned upon the weighing scale, andafter being weighed, is then transpick up a loadof bags from apositionat oneside of the hoist and automatically, operable. for,such

purpose so that heavy bags can be hoisted from one position and carriedto a distant point with greater speed than has heretofore-been possible.

With the above and'other objects in view, the invention consists in theimproved trolley apparatus, and in the form, construction andrelativearrangement of its several parts aswill be hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in" the accompanying drawingand'subsequentlyincorporated in the subjoined claims.

'In the drawing wherein I have illustrated one simple and practicalembodiment of my present in which similar rrefer- 55 improvements, and

acterized in that it is transversely swingable to' ence charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing a trolley provided with apivoted bag hoist in a 'ccordance with'my present invention; 5 .Fig.2'is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1; and V Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View illustrating oneinstallation of my present invention and showing a plurality of hoistsarranged upon a pier. or dock for handling the bags of material as theyare unloaded from the hold of a Vessel. V

Referring in detail to the drawing, I: have shown, for the purpose ofillustrating the ap plication and use of my present invention, a continuousmonorail track 5, preferably though'not necessarily, having across sectional I-beam' form which is suitably supported upon the waterfront dock or other place where the bags of material are to be unloaded,transferred or other wise handled, An electrically controlled hoist'generally indicated at 6 is mounted/in suspended relation from thecontinuous -monorail 5 for longitudinal traveling movement therealong.

Preferably, the hoist at the top thereof, is suspended from the rod ortrunnion! mounted in the trolley frame 8, so that said hoist hastransverse swinging movement relative to said trolley frame. Theelongated frame 8 is in turn suspended from the monorail 5 by the frontand,30"

rear trolleys 9 and-l0, respectively, the former being power-driven by areversible electric motor indicated at H. Y i

The hoist 6 is also operated byja reversible electric motor I2 movableas a unit with said opposite sides thereof with upwardly extending armsI8-and l9,'respectively, a pair of the arms l8 at one side of said framebeing. slotted as at 2D to receive spaced guide bolts 2i projecting fromthe housing of the hoist 6. 1

The arm [9 at the opposite side of'the, frame I! is movable in, avertically disposed guide 22 suitablyattaohed to the hoist and isprovided at its pperend with a bracket 23, on which a vertically'adjustablebolt orlstud. Z4 is :mounted; This studisadapted to actuate aswitch 25 and-: break theihoisting circuit ofiflthe motor l 2toautomatically limit the upwardmovement of the load. A'coil springattached to "the bracket kepttaut by the provision of a leaf springmemmotion from a neutral position closes the motor 23 and to a bracket21 on the lower end of guide 22 moves the frame I I downwardly to itsnormal position and thereby urges rollers 28 on the lower end of saidframe under pressure against the upper bags B carried by the sling l5 tothus stabilize the load and prevent swinging or swaying motion thereofrelative to the hoist.

It will be understood that any desired number of electrically controlledhoists such as 6 may be mounted in suspended relation from thecontinuous monorail 5 for longitudinal traveling movement, one after theother. In this case, a trailer trolley 28 is spaced a short distancerearwardly from the frame 8 of each leading trolley and is connectedtherewith by a chain or other flexible element indicated at 29. Thistrolley 28 at its rear side carries an arm or projection 38 with which aswitch operating button 35 on the forward end of the following trolleyframe 8 is adapted to engage to operate the switch and break the travelmotor circuit for the latter trolley frame. Any slight forward motion ofsaid trolleyafter its motor circuit is broken will result in the forwardmotion of the trailer trolley 28 of the advance trolley frame 3, andthus produce slack in the chain connection 29. This relative movementbetween frame 8 and the trolley 28 is essential, since it is notpossible to bring the trolley to an instant stop upon the breaking ofits motor travel circuit. Chain 29 is normally ber 3i having frictionalbearing engagement upon the wheels of the trailer trolley 23 whichresults in a breaking action and causes said trolley to drag behind themain trolley. Com- ,said current conductors being connected with the'motors through the connection indicated at 35 extending between themain trolley frame 8 and the trailer trolley 28. The switch unit for thecontrol of motor I I has a. manually operable arm indicated at 36 whichwhen moved in one dicircuit for forward travel, and when moved in theopposite direction, closes the motor circuits for rearward-travel of thetrolley. This switch arm or lever will remain set in the forwardposition but preferably is returned by means of a suitable spring uponrelease from the reverse to the neutral position.

The switch unit for the control of the hoist motorl2 includes anup-button 31 closing the motor circuit in one direction to hoist theload;

'matically operating limit switches for controlling the motor circuitsindependently of Said manually operable switches as will be presently described. v

At a suitable point upon the dock beneath one side of the monorail 5,the Government and merchant scalesgenerally indicated at S upon whichthe bags of sugar are to be weighed, are suitably positioned. At aproper point so as to stop the traveling hoist and its load above thescales S, a solenoid 40 is mounted at one side of the monorail 5 andoperates when energized to lift a shoe 4| on the lower end of thesolenoid core 42. This shoe when in its normal position is adapted toactuate a normally closed switch 43 carried by the trolley frame 8 toopen the circuit of motor H and thus stop further travel of the hoist. Asimilar switch actuating shoe is also mounted at a suitable point inadvance of the scales S and is actuated to switch releasing position bythe solenoid indicated at 46. The circuits of these solenoids 4G and 44may be closed by the operation of a common push-button or other type ofswitch arranged at the office or house of the scale attendant.

There is also fixed to one side of the monorail 5, a shoe 45 whichoperates a normally open switch 46 on the trolley frame 8 to close thelowering circuit of the hoist motor i2, when the hoist arrives at theunloading position. In suitably spaced relation from the shoe 45, alever 4'! is fulcrumed in spaced relation to one of its ends as at 48 atthe top of monorail 5, and has suspended from said end thereof a shoe 69which engages the movable element of switch 43 and opens said switch tobreak the circuit of motor ll, thus bringing the trolley to a stop,

When the trolley is automatically stopped above the weighing scales bythe operation of switch 33 by the shoe ll, the button 38 of the manuallycontrolled switch unit for motor 12 is then pressed so as to operatesaid motor and lower the load carried in sling i5 to the scale platform.The lowering movement is stopped by breaking the motor circuit byactuation of push button 39 or an automatically acting limit switch maybe provided in the motor circuit for this purpose. After weighing, thebutton 3'! is pressed so as to again raise the load into contact withframe I? whereby switch 25 is operated in the manner above explained toautomatically break the motor circuit. The scale attendant then pressesthe button to energize the solenoids 40 and 44, thus lifting the shoes4i and permitting switches 43 to return to normally closed positions sothat the travel motors ii are energized. Thus the hoist with the weighedsugar bags progresses towards the unloading station and the succeedinghoist takes its place above the scale platform.

As herein shown, there may be arranged below one end of the rectangulartrack or monorail 5, the end of a load-receiving endless conveyor 51!driven by the motor 5! When the hoists arrive above the end 'of theconveyor 50, switches 63 and 46 are actuated in the manner aboveexplained so as to stop the travel of the hoist trolley and close thelowering circuit of hoist motor I2, thereby lowering the load of sugarbags upon the end of conveyor 50, where an operator is stationed torelease said bags from the sling l5. Upon lifting the shoe 49 by meansof operating element 47" connected to lever 41, the switch 43 willreturn to closed position to close the circuit of motor I! and continuethe travel of the hoist. The sugar bags may thus be deposited upon thisconveyer 50.

An important desideratum of my present invention resides in the factthat due to the trunnion l by which the hoist is mounted on the trolleyframe, the hoist has transverse swinging movement relative to thetrolley frame, and further due to the mounting of the operating motori2, upon them pivoted hoist, the said motor and hoist have as a unitswinging movement relative to the trolley frame. By this simplearrangement the hoist is given a wide range of load pick-up movementwithout the exertion of excessive strain either upon the hoist or uponthe monorail. This simple arrangement is also 5. v t posited upon anendless conveyor-or the like for aooases.

" as herein disclosed willbe clearly and fully understood. It will beseenthat I have provided a simple and reliably Operatingapparatuswhereby such heavy bags of sugar or other material may be expeditiouslyhandled, weighed and detransport to. a suitable predetermineddestination. The automatic control means herein referredto enables theseveral operations to be carried outwith absolute safety, both to theap- {p aratus and to the necessary attendants in charge thereof, andenables themanual labor which has heretofore been incident to thehandling ofsuch materials to be reduced to a mini mum. Since the meanswhich I provide for preventing swinging movement of the load during thetravel of the pivoted hoist is highly effective for this purpose, theweighing and conveyance of the load are greatly facilitated and theapparatus relieved of excessive strain, while possible accidentalrelease of the load from the hoist is obviated.

In the foregoing description of the accompanying drawing, I havedisclosed one embodiment of the essential features of my presentinvention, which I believe to be entirely practical for the purpose inview. It is nevertheless to be understood that my invention is capableof embodiment in many different environments and may also beincorporated in various other alternative structural forms, and Iaccordingly reserve the privilege of resorting to all such legitimatechanges in the form, construction and relative arrangement of theseveral parts as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope ofthe invention as claimed.

I claim: 7 V

1. In combination with a trolley movable along a monorail, which trolleyincludes front and rear trolley parts rigidly supporting 'an elongatedhorizontal frame between them, a vertically elongated rigid box likehoistframe providing a plurality of rigid downwardlyprojecting membersat its lower extremities for contact with the load, a pivoted connectionbetween the top end of said hoist frame and said horizontal frame at apoint between said trolley parts and below the monorial, an operatingmotor carried by the hoist frame and a load-supporting mount upon thelatter operated by the motor, said hoist frame having a vertical passagein which the load-supported mount is accommodated for operation, meansconnected with the load-supporting mount for sustaining the load in firmabutment against the lower, downwardly projecting members on the hoistframe, the pivoted connection between the hoist frame and horizontalframe providing for transverse swinging movement of the hoist frame,motor, load-supporting mount and sustained load, all as a unit andrelative to the horizontal frame.

2. In material handling apparatus which includes spaced trolley partsrigidly connected by an elongated horizontal trolley frame and mountedto travel longitudinally on an overhead monorail, atrunnionmounted inthe frame longitudinally thereof and centrally below the monoraihavertically disposed rigid box like hoist frame carrying an electricmotor and hoist, gearunder the control of the motor, said frameproviding a plurality of rigid projecting members at its lower,extremities for contact with the load, the hoistframe being centrallysuspended at its top end from the trunnion for transverse swingingmovement relatively to -thetrolley frame and havinga vertical interiorpassage in which the hoist gear is accommodatedfor operation, said hoistgear includinga cable sheave adapted to j be raised and lowered in theoperationof the motonand means in association, with the sheave extendingdownwardlythrough the bottom open:

end of the passage for securing the load to be,

supported by the. sheave in abutment against the end of the plurality'ofprojecting' members 1 on the lower end of the hoist frame whereby thesupported load will swing as a unit with the transversely swingingmovementpf'the hoist frame.

3. In material handling apparatus whichdincludes a trolley devicemounted to travel longitudinally on an overhead monorail and having aframe body rigidly connected to the same, an elongated verticallydisposed rigid box like hoist frame work suspended at its upper end froma pivot pin on said frame body and having awork passage in the directionof its length, a plurality of vertically depending load engaging memberson the'lower end of said frame, operable hoisting mechanism carried bythe hoist framework and including load hoisting and carrying gearmovable in said work passage, said gear having a portion extending fromthe work passage below the lower end of the hoist framework and adaptedto hold the load in abutment against the plurality of load engagingmembers on the lower endportion of the hoist framework, and meansadapted to be controlled from the ground for controlling ably suspendedtherefrom, hoist tackle arranged in the hollow interior of the frameworkfor raising and supporting a load, and means on the framework forsupporting and operating the hoist tackle, the lower end of theframework being provided with a plurality of spaced abutments forengagement by the load.

5. A monorail trolley of the type which includes a trolley frame havingwheels engaged with the monorail to travel therealong, a hoist' with anelectricmotor pivotally suspended from the trolley frame, anelongatedbox-like load stabilizing frame disposed vertically below theend therewith, the connections comprising vertical arms extendingupwardly from the stabilizing frame, and guide means on the hoistslidably v engaged bythe arms, said connections operating to compel thestabilizing frame and the hoist with the motor to swing together and, atthe same time to permit vertical movement of the stabilizing framerelative to the hoist and motor,

hoist gear disposed for operation within the hollowinterior of thestabilizing frame and com hoist and connected by connections atitsupperf 6 y nected with the motor for operation thereby to raise andlower the load, roller means provided on the lower edge of thestabilizing frame, said hoist gear, when operated to raise the load,being efiective to raise and maintain it against said roller means.

6. A monorail trolley comprising a trolley frame with wheels adapted toengage the monorail to travel therealong, an electrically controlledhousing including an electric motor pivotally supported as a unit fromthe trolley frame to swing laterally with respect to the direction oftravel of the trolley frame, a hollow elongated box like loadstabilizing frame disposed vertically below the hoist and having itsupper end slidably connected therewith so as to swing in unison with theswinging movement of the hoist and to have 'vertical movement relativethereto, and load trolley frame disposedbeneath the monorail and betweenfront and rear trolleys thereon and having a hoist with a controllingelectric motor suspended as a unit from the trolley frame, for lateralswinging movement relative thereto, hoist gear connected with the motorfor operation thereby and to swing with the hoist and motor, a hollowelongated box like under frame extending in the direction of its lengthdownwardly from and below the hoist and in which the hoist gear isdisposed and maintained for vertical operation to hoist a subjoined loadagainst the lower edge of the underframe, vertical side armsconstituting the sole means for supporting the underframe from andvertically below the hoist, said arms extending upwardly above the topend of the underframe in parallel with its vertical sides and supportedby the hoist so as to have freedom of vertical movement relativethereto, and so as to compel the hoist and motor to swing with thetransverse swinging of the underframe, hoist gear and subjoined load. V

JACOB J. NEUMAN.

